Gummed-tape-moistening machine.



S. BROWN.

GUMMED TAPE MOISTENING MACHINE.

\ APPLIOATION FILED MAY 29, 1913.

1,11 1,434. Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

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'9 ,8 -I i 17 1b 1 HP Ty WITNESSES: 'LVVENTOR.

a 3 Sam/e2 Brown A TTORNE r.

s. BROWN! GUMMEDTAPE MOISTENING MACHINE. I APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, i913. 1 1 1 1 ,434: Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

1 WITNESSES: LvVENToR.

A/M%Q Y3, I Samuel Bron/12- M59hzw BY A TTORNEY.

water to such JUNITED s'rarns rarn'r OFFICE.

SAMUEL BROWN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

GUMMED-TAPE-MOI'STENING maonrns.

, Specification of Letters Patent. Paltentedfiept. 22, ;914;

" Application filedMay 29,1913; Serial No. 770,725.

To (ill/whom it may concern:

Be it known that ILSAMUEL BROWN, citizen of the United States, residing at' St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain ;:new and useful Improvements in Gummed Tape- Moistening Machines, of

which the following is a full, clear, and

exact do -ription, reference being. had to the l; lfig. is asfrontend elevation of the same;iand Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section on thegh-ne of Fig. 2. E 'llhepresent 1nvent1o1r1s directed to machines in which strips of paper gummed on one side are :mtomaticaily moistened with the vwit hdrawal-of the paper from the machine, the, paper being usually in the form ofa roll mounted on a reel from which any length of strip may be torn off, such moistened-strips being used for the sealing of packages and bundles in connnercial houses,

as'well understood in the art. In theclass of machines here referred to. it isusual to moisten the gumnie'd side or face of the paper strip .to causethe same to quickly adhere to any. mrface towhich it may be applied- Inthe present embodiment of my inven tionlthe object sought is to moisten both sides of the gummed strips, a moistening from-both sides overcom ng many ObJCt1OI1S inhere 'itin the prevailing practice of moisteningvthe gummed side only. i In the first place *it is usual to draw the paper across a cutter or knife to sever the same when.

the proper length. has-been drawn from the reel,- asection of the moistened paper usually remaining unsevered. Being moistened on one side only it tends to curl, thus leaving a curled terminal for the succeeding section to be severed, such curled portion being usu ally wasted, the clerk tearing it off and throwing 1t away. -By :aoistening the strip onboth sides no curling or warping is possi- 'ble. Again, by moistening both sides, the .bodyof the strip becomes impregnated with anextcn'; that when the strip ipanying drawings, forming a part eventually dries on the package about which it may have been wrapped, the strip undergoes a maximum shrinkage so that it hugs the package and insures therefor a close fitting wrapper. \Vhere, as inthe present case the paper-is used for wrapping and scaling corrugated boxes, the moistening from both sides makes the paper exceedingly pliable which is eminentlydesirable where serving the purpose of a wrapper for boxes of this character. The machine herein too, is provided with means which. prevent the terminal of the main body of the tape from which the Wrapping and sealing strip was severed, adhering to the moistening drum or cylinder, the machine being -provided with further and other details of construction the advantages of which will be more fully apparent from a detailed de scriptionof the invention which is as follows: I

Referring to the drawings, 1, 1., represent the side basal members of a suitable supporting frame, the same being connected by tierods 23, 25, and provided with standards 2, 2, for the support ofthe spindle 3 by which the paper roll is supported. The sides 1 1 are provided with lugs u, a, spa ed apart to receive a bolt (not shown) by which the frame may be secured to a counter, table, or other suitable support. The ends of the spindle rest in depressions or recesses 2') formed in the standards 2, the terminals of the spindle being screw-threaded to receive nuts 4, which can be screwedmore or less firmly against the bosses e 'of the heads 5, 5, passed loosely over the spindle 3, the heads 5, 5, being preferably composed of a series of arms radiating from the hub or boss as shown, to lighten the same,'and serving to guide the roll of tape it mounted on the spindlebetween' them, it being understood that the tape is gummed on the underside .or the side facing the members 1, 1, as

it is pulled off the roll. At the forward end of the frame isa basin or' tank 6 holding Water, between the sides of which is mounted a peripherally grooved drum orcylinder 7 dipped beneath the surface of the water (Fig; the grooves m running longitudinally as shown, and serving to gather or pick upthe water with the turning of the drum. The' latter is provided with trunnions-S, 8, esting in bearings" 9,011 thesides of the tank's-Spanningthe'drum 7 and disposed to one side and 'rarwardof, the

axis of rotation thereof is a U-shaped frame 10, the sides of the frame being secured iii any mechanical mann r to the inner faces of the side walls of the tank 6, the upper horizontal member of said frame having secured thereto and on the under side thereof,

a preferably serrated cutting bla'de'br knife 11 or equivalent cutter. I

At the rear of the tank 6 and between the portions of the side walls thereof which overhang the front portion of the space between the members 1, 1, is secured in any mechanical manner a water trough or container 12 whose end and rear wallsare spanned by a wire or equivalent U-shaped rail or frame 13, the medial portion of the rail being spaced from therear wall of the trough Said portion of the rail serves to lock the heads 5, 5, against possible rota tion with the unrolling of the tape from the spindle 3, a pair of arms of the respective heads being provided with terminal notches or-recesses n to engage the rail (Fig. .2) the latter thus serving to lock the heads against rotation. In practice, the notches n aremade to engage the rail as the spindle 3 (with the heads 5, 5, thereon) is being deposited into its supporting recesses ordepressions b.

The tro'ugh 12 is preferably soldered or secured to the walls of the tank 6 through the medium of the brackets 12 formed with the trough, there being disposed between the said brackets a guide rod 14 spaced from the bottom of the trough sufficiently to allow for the passage of the tape between the trough and rod (Fig. 2). The bottom of the front wall ofthe trough 12 is provided with a series of discharge openings 0 or theirequivalents opposite which there is secured in the outside of the said wall a strip or layer of felt or equivalent brush 15, said felt projecting a suitable distance below the bottom of the trough, the e'dge of the felt being thus positioned to engage the upper face of the tape. The felt is preferably secured in position by an angle-bar 16 screwed to the wall of the trough Disposed between the trough 12 and the drum 7 and supported between the sidesof the tank 6 is a bar 1? to which is screwed or otherwise secured one edge of an apron 18 bent trough-shaped, there being disposed immediately over the trough or 17,- 1o, 14, are all disposed atina to the axis of the drum 7, w ich to the axis of'the spindle 3.

p The operation of the device maybe described as follows :A roll of tapek of con- ,venient size being mounted loosely on the spindle3, and the heads 5, 5, being applied is ltself parallel to the spindle, the latter is deposited in its recesses b, and the free end of" the tape (which is gummed on its under. side) is passed as shown in Fig. 2, between "the trough 12'.and rod 14, then over the rear of the guide apron 18 directly above the bar 17 then between the apron and the rod 19, then over'the lip d and over the peripheryof the drum 7. Adraft on the tape will necessarily rotate the drum 7 as well as the rollon the spindle 3.- The water in the trough 12 will keep the felt 15 moistened, the felt inturn moisteningthe upper or ungummed side of the tape, said upperside beingth'us moistened slightly in advance of the bottom-or gummed side which latter is not moistened until it passes over the drum 7, the grooves m, thereof mechanically carrying the water in suflicient quantities to moisten the tape on the bottom. Thusvboth sides of the tapebecome moistened, the moisture impre able; and being moistened on both sides it does not curl when the piece severed by the knife is removed for application to a box, package or parcel which -1sto be wrapped or ner. A rapid withdrawal of the tape would necessarily impart a, rapid rotation to the roll on the spindle 3, and to preventthe ro-' tation from continuing under the momentum ofthe' roll after the draft on the tape has ceased, is the object of the nuts 4, 4 for it is obvious that the nuts may be driven against the bosses 6 with sufficie'nt friction to insure the stoppage of the r01 once the draft on the tape has-ceased- Otherwise, the danger of the roll continuing in its rotation and the consequent unwinding of an undev sired'length of tape would be imminent.

The presence of the lip 03 insures a'proper nating the same and rendering the tape plisealed. A sufficient length of the tape being .molstened, the same is brought up against the blade 11 and cut off in the usual mandeflection. of that portion of: the tape left projectingbetween the knife 11- andv the lip,

after a portion has been severed" by the knife, to prevent such projecting portion from adhering to "the drum, and hence preventing premature moistening of the gummed side of the tape, or b efore'it-isneeded. The rod 19 acts as a wiper in that it wipes any excess of water left on the tape or web by the belt or equivalent brush 15.

The .l'clt may be renewed from time totime as it wears away by simply removing the strip 16. By moistening the upper or ungumnled side of the tape in advance of the gunnned side, the interposition of the guide being applied to a parcel intended to be wrapped or sealed.

I do not of course, wish to be limited to the precise structural details here shown.

By tape l do not wish to be limited to any particular width of paper or other ma terial, the expression contemplating any sheet supplied i'ron'l any source (a roll or otherwise) and gummed on one or both sides, or impregnated with adhesive or not gummed at all; neither do I wish to be limited to an length of sheet treated.

Having described my invention, what I clann 1s 1.111 a machine of the character described, a rotatable drum, means for suping the sheet over said apron, a cutter for.

severing the sheet, and a formation on the aoron directed away from the drum for normally holding the section of the sheet beyond the apron out of contact with the drum to prevent premature moistening of the sheet.

2. A gummed-tape moistener comprising asuitable frame, a roll of tape mounted at' one end thereof, a water tank at the opposite end, a' peripherally grooved drum mounted in the tank, an apron bent trough shaped secured in the rear of the drum and spaced therefrom and provided with a front rearwardly deflected lip, a guide rod above 40 the trough formed in the apron, a water container mounted between the apron and roll and provided with dischargeopenings, a ielt or equivalent strip mounted opposite the openings and having a section exposed t0 the upper side of the tape, a guide rod below the container over which the tape is passed before passing'under the guide rod and over the apron, and a knife above the drum for severing the tape into any desired lengths.

3. In a tape inoistener, a suitable frame, a spindle on said frame for supporting a tape roll, guideheads on said spindle hearing against opposite ends of the roll, said guide-heads comprising a series of radial arms, a water trough for moistening one side of the tape, means for moistening the opposite side of the tape, a rail carried by the trough on the side facing the spindle, the arms or" the guide-heads being provided with notches for engaging the rail whereby the heads are locked against rotation.

'4. In a machine of the character described, a moistening member, a source'of supply of sheet material, a stationary apron contiguous to the moistening member, means for guiding the sheet over the apron, :1 out ter for severing the sheet, and a-fixed formation on. the apron deflected away from the drum and spaced from the guiding means for normally holding the section of the material between the apron and cutter out of contact with the moistening member.

5. In a machine of the character described, a moistening member, a source of supply of sheet material, an apron contiguous to the inoistening member and spaced therefrom, means "for directing the sheet over the apron, a cutter for severing the sheet, and a terminal fixed formation on the apron tending away from the moistening member and spaced from the directingineans .tor normally holding the section of the material between the apron and cutter out of contact with the moistenin-g member.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL BROWN.

l 'itnesses Erin. STAREK, FANNIE E. -WEBER. 

